Where to see scary movies in Vancouver, 2018 Halloween edition

A family snapshot from the New Zealand hit What We Do in the Shadows.

Once your costume is chosen and pumpkins carved, it’s time to watch some horror. This year, local theatres have many of the usual suspects—Dario Argento’s Suspiria seems to get more popular with each passing Halloween—and a few surprises. Find out more below as we see what’s coming up at Vancity Theatre, the Cinematheque, and the Rio.

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Where to see scary movies in Vancouver, 2018 Halloween edition

Escape the August sun with these dark and steamy cinematic thrillers

After 10 years out of circulation, Out of the Past returns to Cinematheque’s Film Noir summer series.

Every summer, Vancouver’s downtown arthouse cinema celebrates the golden age of film noir.

This year, the Cinematheque’s (1131 Howe St.) Film Noir series includes a movie regarded by fans of the genre as one of the best. Out of the Past stars Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer. Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Tourneur, the 1947 film has been out of Canadian circulation for a decade due to rights issues. Two other rarely seen films made by the same studio, Macao and Crossfire, are also in this year’s lineup.

There are a number of other films, along with some early work by Swedish filmmaker (and noir fan) Ingmar Bergman, screening between Aug. 3-23 (including an Aug. 3 opening night that includes a “courtyard wingding” with entertainment, and showings of Out of the Past and 1949’s Criss Cross).

All told, the Cinematheque’s Film Noir series includes 10 films, plus three as part of its sidebar series, Bergman Noir. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

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Escape the August sun with these dark and steamy cinematic thrillers

Emerging filmmakers showcased in Young French Cinema 2018

French film lovers are in for a treat. Instead of scouring TCM for movies from venerated masters likes Louis Malle, Francois Truffaut, and Eric Rohmer, they can see some of the best new films from up-and-coming filmmakers from France in an upcoming series.

From April 5-8 and 13-15, the Cinematheque (1131 Howe St.) presents Young French Cinema 2018. The program includes independent films, comedies, and documentaries, all from emerging filmmakers.

Half of the films are directed by women, and settings range from Europe to Asia to Africa. All are Vancouver premieres. See below to find out more about the selections.

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Emerging filmmakers showcased in Young French Cinema 2018

Acclaimed feature debut from French-Canadian director comes to Cinematheque

Éliane Préfontaine in Still Night, Still Light

Éliane Préfontaine in Still Night, Still Light, the feature film debut from director Sophie Goyette.

Still Night, Still Light (Mes nuits feront écho) is the acclaimed feature-length debut from Québécois writer-director Sophie Goyette. The Cinematheque is screening the acclaimed French-Canadian film Feb. 1-4.

Still Night, Still Light follows five acclaimed shorts from the director. Still Night, Still Light won the Bright Future Award (“best first film”) at the Rotterdam Festival. The film has competed in more than 20 festivals, including the Vancouver International Film Festival. It also has been in nomination for the “Discovery Award 2017” attributed by the Director’s Guild of Canada.

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Acclaimed feature debut from French-Canadian director comes to Cinematheque

Eight movies to see at this year’s European Film Festival in Vancouver

A scene from As We Were Dreaming, one of the films screening at this year’s European Film Festival.

The East German Trainspotting, Hungary’s highest-budgeted film, and Romania’s entry for the upcoming Academy Awards are among the films screening at this year’s European Film Festival (Nov. 24-Dec. 4).

Presented by Cinematheque (1131 Howe St.), the Vancouver consulates and the Ottawa embassies of the member states of the European Union and the Delegation of the European Union to Canada, the 20th Annual European Union Film Festival features entries from 25 EU members. Vancouver audiences can experience the culture of these countries without buying a plane ticket, never mind squeezing into those narrower and narrower seats and fighting for space in the overhead bins.

Here are some, but by no means all, of the highlights from this year’s festival.

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Eight movies to see at this year’s European Film Festival in Vancouver

Five reasons to check out Seven Beauties: The Films of Lina Wertmuller

A still from Seven Beauties (1975). It earned Italian director Lina Wertmüller an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.

Throughout September, Cinematheque is presenting a retrospective of work by Italian director Lina Wertmüller. All told, the series includes seven features and a documentary.

Here are five reasons to check out the program, which runs Sept. 8-25, and is presented in collaboration with with Vancouver’s Italian Cultural Centre.

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Five reasons to check out Seven Beauties: The Films of Lina Wertmuller

Cinematheque announces its summer film noir lineup!

William Gargan and Janis Carter in Night Editor.

In what’s become a Vancouver/Cinematheque tradition, every summer brings a new lineup of classic noir films to the arthouse theatre on Howe. Thanks to some clever sleuthing (i.e. an email request), we were able to procure an early look at the top-secret programme. Herewith, some of the private eyes, femme fatales and evil masterminds coming to the city this August.

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Cinematheque announces its summer film noir lineup!